The Great African Island; Chapters on Madagascar. a Popular Account of Recent Researches in the Physical Geography, Geology, and Exploration of the Country, and Its Natural History and Botany (Paperback)

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1880 Excerpt: ...much of a patriarchal character about it, and many analogies to that of the Jews and other Eastern nations, as described in Scripture. (See chapter on" New Light on Old Texts.") Although, of course, the innate injustice of buying and selling and holding as property one's fellow-creatures remains unaltered, practically, there is not, as a rule, much in the circumstances of the slaves generally to call for any great commiseration; for, on the whole, they are kindly treated by their masters, they are considered as a kind of inferior members of the family to whom they belong, and many of the slaves have a practical freedom of action to which the free population are quite strangers. They will join in the conversation of their masters at table and give their opinion with a freedom which strikes us as amusing, and which is utterly alien to our, English habits with our servants. And then it must be remembered that in Madagascar there is not the colour prejudice, or the distinction of race between master and slave, which raises such an impassable barrier between the dark and white races in other countries where slavery exists; for the masters are often just as dark in colour as their slaves, and, as will be presently described, are, as regards some of them, of exactly the same origin. The slave population in Madagascar is divided into three distinctly marked classes--viz., the Zaza-IIova, the Andevo, and the Mozambiques. The first of these, the Zaza-Hova, are, as their name implies, of the same stock as the Hovas themselves, the mass of the population of the central province. But they or their ancestors have become slaves either from having been sold for debt, or as a punishment for political offences or for certain crimes. The cruel code of native laws up...